43 members of an evangelical church in western North Carolina say they were subjected to years of emotional and physical abuse, according to The Associated Press.

Ex-congregants of the Word of Faith Fellowship in Rutherford County told The Associated Press in on-the-record interviews that instead of finding inner peace and eternal life, they were regularly punched, smacked, choked, slammed to the floor or thrown through walls in the name of the Lord.

Advertisement

Victims of the violence, they say, included pre-teens and toddlers - even crying babies, who were vigorously shaken, screamed at and sometimes smacked to banish demons.

As part of its extensive investigation, the AP reviewed hundreds of pages of law enforcement, court and child welfare documents, along with hours of conversations with the church's controlling leader, secretly recorded by followers.

To read the church's statement in response to the allegations, click here. (Information on the court case it references at the bottom of this article.)

Former members said Fellowship members had to follow strict and unusual rules on relationships, marriage and sex.

They said some of the edicts include the following:

Congregants need permission from leader Jane Whaley and other ministers to get married, and it then can take months - or even a year - before the newlyweds are allowed to have sex.

No one is allowed to date without permission, and most relationships and marriages are arranged by Whaley and ministers

On their wedding night, couples are permitted only a "godly peck on the cheek." When they get in bed together, they must roll over and go to sleep.

For all married couples, love-making is limited to 30 minutes, no foreplay is allowed, the lights must be turned off and only the missionary position is sanctioned.

Couples need permission from church leadership to have children, and leaders dole out condoms to make sure unapproved women don't get pregnant.

The former followers said couples violating the rules can be publicly rebuked, subjected to violence or forced to separate.

Former members said members also live by a list of strict rules for daily life, which sect leader Jane Whaley says God revealed to her, former members say.

They include:

Followers are banned from celebrating birthdays and religious or secular holidays, including Christmas, Easter and the Fourth of July.

Congregants are prohibited from watching television and movies, reading newspapers, or eating in restaurants that play music or serve alcohol.

Men and women must swim with shirts covering their upper bodies and cannot take the extra clothing off in public - not even in their own backyards.

Men cannot grow beards.

Followers are not allowed to enroll in college without permission and, if permission is granted, can attend only alongside other members so their behavior can be monitored. Whaley also picks their majors, and they must work for the church or a business owned by church leaders once they leave school.

Whaley's permission is required to buy a house or a car.

Members are not allowed to wear Nike products because Whaley believes the company's iconic "swoosh" logo is a pagan symbol.

Congregants aren't allowed to play board games like Monopoly.

The church denies wrongdoing.

Five members of the church are expected to stand trial this spring after being indicted by a North Carolina grand jury on charges of assault, kidnapping and attempted strangulation of Matthew Fenner, who was allegedly beaten in January 2013 because he is gay. To read more on the case, click here.